Sports

Sea of Indian shirts, fluttering Pakistan flags cheer Cricket All-Stars game in NY

Warne's Warriors beat Sachin's Blasters, with Warne man of the match after claiming Tendulkar's wicket

Afp November 08, 2015

sachin 039 s blasters player sachin tendulkar center left waves to the crowd with other players after a match in the cricket all stars series at citi field on november 7 2015 in the queens borough of new york city photo afp

Sachin's Blasters player Sachin Tendulkar (center left) waves to the crowd with other players after a match in the Cricket All-Stars Series at Citi Field on November 7, 2015 in the Queens Borough of New York City. PHOTO: AFP

NEW YORK: Amid a sea of Indian shirts, fluttering Pakistan flags and deafening roars, New York cricket fans turned out in their thousands to watch greats of the game face off against each other on Saturday -- in a baseball stadium.

Australian spin king Shane Warne and Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar captained two star-studded teams in a Twenty20 match designed to introduce Americans to what organisers billed as the world's second most popular sport.

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PHOTO: AFP

Warne's Warriors beat Sachin's Blasters, with Warne man of the match after claiming Tendulkar's wicket.

But it was the Indian star whom most of the overwhelming South Asian expatriate crowd had come to see.

"Sachin, Sachin, Sachin," screamed the stadium in unison, hundreds wearing blue Indian shirts, many with the record-breaking batsman's name emblazoned on the back.

PHOTO: AFP

"Sachin for President," read one banner.

Snacking on hot dogs and nachos, chewing on pretzels and quaffing beer, for many it was the first time in years they had watched live cricket in America, long starved of the sport.

The three-hour match will be followed by games in Houston and Los Angeles.

Warne told reporters 36,000 people had packed into the Citi Field -- home of the New York Mets baseball team -- for the game.

PHOTO: AFP

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"I thought it was fantastic, the atmosphere was amazing," he said.
At the end, the players lapped the pitch, waving and applauding the crowd, which Tendulkar compared to the home crowd at the Mets' World Series.

"The whole idea of Cricket All Stars is that, to try to get as many nations together to celebrate this," Tendulkar said. "It was electrifying."

PHOTO: AFP

"The music, crowd, atmosphere -- it was nothing not to like. How could you not enjoy that experience today? It was fantastic," said Warne.

Fans from all backgrounds helped create a party atmosphere.
There were couples with babies, fathers with sons, and youths waving flags of India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

PHOTO: AFP

There were glamorous women dressed in chic Pakistani shirts and skinny jeans, more sedate married women in dupattas.

All were fixated by the action. Tendulkar's opening stint at the crease saw the concession stands deserted, few willing to waste a second of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

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PHOTO: AFP

"Sachin has been my hero growing up so I had to come," said Akriti, who was born in Delhi but has spent more than half her life in America.

She believes Americans could easily embrace cricket, and brought along her enthusiastic American husband Scott as proof.

PHOTO: AFP

"The fact that we in America don't watch it is kind of sad. Plus there's a lot of time for commercial breaks so everyone can capitalize on it, you know," she joked. "I think it's great."

"I love it. I'm learning, she's teaching me," said Scott, a recruiter. "Once it catches on, I'm sure it'll take off."

PHOTO: AFP

Two New York brothers came with a friend who flew in especially from Toronto -- all die-hard Pakistan fans and over the moon to watch their heros Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar.

"He (Akram)'s been our national hero, he helped us win the '92 World Cup, so really excited to get to see him live in action," said Harris Chaudhry, 25, who works in financial services.

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PHOTO: AFP

"Last time I went to a cricket match was may be six, seven years ago so for me this is a big deal," said Toronto student Shakeel Haider.
But not everyone is convinced the game can catch on in the land of baseball, basketball and American football.

"I think baseball's just so entrenched," said Philip Watt, a network engineer from Australia, nursing a beer and sitting alone.

PHOTO: AFP

Asked what he knew about the game, a stadium security guard outside shrugged. "I don't care," he said. "As long as I'm getting paid, they could have a zoo in there!"

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COMMENTS (11)

recovering deleted files from jump drive | 9 years ago | Reply Hello friend The post is so helpful for me,i like it very much,thanks a lot!

DudeFromDC | 9 years ago | Reply @Ilyas.. while what you are saying is right, there is a reason behind all these.. Folks who organized this game are completely aware of the fact that US doesn't care about cricket. But there is something else they do care (well, all of us do, to be fair).. Money.. If this game can rake in money for the organizers, there will be more and more cricket games in US. Read Tiffinbox's response.. And it looks like the stadium was pretty packed.. (that's the reason they set up these games in cities like NY and LA.There are a lot of desis there). It's never about the popularity of the game.. Its all about money.

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Akbar | 9 years ago | Reply @Ilyas: I am sorry to disagree, Cricket is Australia's national game and summer here is all about cricket. So you don't have convince anyone here to go out for cricket. Summer is all about Bar.B, Beer and Cricket. Cheers,

Salman | 9 years ago | Reply @Malik: As usual, a dumb comment trying to divide people.

Steve | 9 years ago | Reply @TIFFINBOX . Mate Thank you very much for your hilarious comment . I had a rough day and your comment made me laugh a lot

TooTrue | 9 years ago | Reply Yawn. Boring. If they wanted to show the game to the Americans (and I don't mean the taxi drivers, economic migrants and IT slave labor) they'd have done a lot better with a CURRENT all star team. Who cares about a geriatric Sachin and a balding Polliock? And there should be some rivalry between the teams not a silly love fest.

Hassan | 9 years ago | Reply All-Star cricket match in New York is not only to introduce it among the US citizens but also a clear message to Indian extremist party Shiv Sena that the people of India and Pakistan have love and respect for each others and we should involved politics and governments in Sports, Art and Culture. One hope that Pakistan and Indian cricket would be revive again and the people of both countries will enjoy it. I also appreciate the efforts of Australian bowler Shane Warne who put together all players to spread this sport in the remaining world where many people don't know about this popular kind of sports. Well Done Warne

alam | 9 years ago | Reply @Illyas ...desi who..its Indians and Australians game buddy....let them do the business......and pakistanis will get money...dont worry....

Ilyas | 9 years ago | Reply As usual, all the desis were out in force. I witnessed similar scenes during the cricket world cup too. Sometimes you wonder, if the natives - read Caucasians, Hispanics and African Americans - even knew that such an event was happening in their country. The whole purpose of the game was to broaden the appeal of the sport, but by looking at the turnout, it seemed like it was an "all desi" affair" as is increasingly the case in Australia, UK and South Asia. PS: Try getting more of your American friends, who have not been exposed to cricket, to the game !!!

Malik | 9 years ago | Reply Wasim, Shoaib and Rameez are always trying to pour in a drop of Pakistan in glass full of India. With the MODIfication of India nowadays not sure how to feel about it.

TiffinBox | 9 years ago | Reply Asked what he knew about the game, a stadium security guard outside shrugged. “I don’t care,” he said. “As long as I’m getting paid, they could have a zoo in there!” .... :) :) :)

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